That's a mechanism for communication, so did you believe the right things were communicated, just not in the most visible way
Out of the 11 people who have been on the council, 9 either started in the forums or have been very active here over the entire course of their involvement. The implication that the "community members who were primarily involved in the forum" were somehow ignored, forgotten about or purposely sidelined is particularly grating.
Some of us have gone to great lengths, and great effort, to ensure that - in the last election in particular - everyone on the forum who was eligible to vote on their forum activity alone received explicit instructions on how to ensure they were eligible to vote, and why it was important.
303 people voted in the last election. The theory that there is a vast pool of enfranchised people on the fora, waiting for the opportunity to make their voice heard doesn't seem to be reality. Getting involvement or traction on any particular topic proves difficult, whether it's bug days; testing marathons; community outreach or input on what colour to paint the bikeshed - and this isn't just on talk.maemo.org.
I argue that real end-users don't regularly (or, in the vast majority of cases, ever) post to Internet forums. What we have here, and elsewhere on maemo.org, are enthusiasts and power-users.
<sigh /> I said trying to count the exact number of people in the Maemo community was somewhat wasted effort. ... Let's do a thought experiment. We have a consumer, Bob, who's just bought an N900 after some pretty adverts he saw all over the printed media in London. At what point does he become "part" of the Maemo community: ... and that's what the definition of the community really is: if you think you're part of it, you are. And that's why it's difficult to count.